<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Wide Sea, Endless Sky by Frixep</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24996247">Wide Sea, Endless Sky</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frixep/pseuds/Frixep'>Frixep</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Garp is laughing in the background, Gen, Marine!Marco, Marine!Vista, Sengoku is just done, marine AU, pirates do what pirates do, the unpredictable and funny side-effects of devil fruits</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:48:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,713</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24996247</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frixep/pseuds/Frixep</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Marco just wants to do his job (his own way), Whitebeard just wants a new son (maybe more than one), Kaido just wants this devil fruit user (it's a zoan type, so it's his, right?) and Sengoku just wants to keep his subordinates whole and loyal (on his own side. Damn pirates!).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>75</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/14184045">Paperwork of a Phoenix</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ventusleone/pseuds/ventusleone">ventusleone</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So, we need more Marine!AU. It kinda.. mutated and now it's this. ...I blame Ventusleone for it. (I'm sorry, Ventus. I know there is a second Marine!AU and I haven't read it yet but I will. I promise!)</p><p>Have fun and I hope you enjoy this Marine!Marco!AU-thing that kinda, unintentionally and totally warped/mutated into a mishmash of unplanned bits and pieces and headcanons. (Especially you, Ventus.)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Marco wasn't happy about this. He was not sure why it had to be him and not some other officer. No, it <em>had</em> to be Marco himself. Why was <em>he</em> the one to babysit these pirates with the Fleet-Admiral?</p><p> </p><p>..truth be told, he knew why. He knew bloody well why.</p><p> </p><p>He was not exactly lax but.. had his own opinions about which pirate deserved imprisonment and/or death and which deserved it not. Sengoku, unamused and long-suffering, did the one thing, really the only thing, to punish him and maybe, just <em>maybe</em>, make him regret and change his worldview and decisions. (..or force his hand. You never knew with the Fleet-Admiral. He had forced him to accept the rank of Admiral, after all. Something Marco hadn't seen coming. <em>Ever</em>. But here he was: an Admiral. It was ridiculous, really. ..at least he had gotten permission to keep his crew.)</p><p> </p><p>Sengoku told him to look after pirates which were accepted by the government but were actually pirates of the sorts Marco would gladly hunt and kill under other circumstances. So he had to mime the gracious host for them while they came to Mairiejoice for this ridiculous meeting of theirs.</p><p> </p><p>Why did he become a marine again?</p><p>..oh yeah. Justice and freedom and to set sail. He remembered now. (To be honest, he just became one because of the set sail part. ..and because he had nothing better to do at the time. ..and the justice thing. Things and pirates were a little bit different back then.)</p><p> </p><p>At least Vista was with him.</p><p> </p><p>The swordsman was his inofficial second-in-command and everybody knew that this was a <em>fact</em>. There were members of his crew that held a higher rank but Vista was Marcos right hand man and whatever your military rank was, you <em>didn't</em> pull it on Vista. If he didn't cut you in half for it or worse – looked at you with this disappointed stare of his - than Marco would rip your throat out and throw your bleeding corpse into the ocean. This too was a fact and everybody knew better than to question it.</p><p> </p><p>(Well.. almost everyone. Sengoku had tried to question it. Multiple times. Marco had just ignored his questions and orders, smirked like the insufferable bastard he was and been on his merry way. ..and gotten away with it. Somehow.)</p><p> </p><p>Vista knew that he was Marco's favorite and he basked in this knowledge in his own unique way. He wasn't loud and brash but quiet and subtle and Marco didn't know if this wasn't way worse because Vista knew what he wanted and he knew how to get it. And on most days he made it very clear who he was loyal to. Words weren't necessary with the swordsman.</p><p> </p><p>Marco for all his bored looks and laidback attitude, could be a coldblooded, cruel and downright vicious bastard as some pirates and even marines could testify for. (Or, well, their bodies testified for it. ..if someone had the determination and luck to find them.) Every time one of these.. episodes happened, his second-in-command would smile in this strange but sincere way and do whatever was necessary without a single question asked or comment made. The Admiral wouldn't say it out loud although he was grateful for the silent support and unasked help when his rage and bloodlust died down and his thoughts where finally clear and coherent again.</p><p> </p><p>It helped soothe his nerves, especially with this whole Kaido-thing going on. In the end he wasn't above dirty tricks and it was these things about the Admiral, besides his devil fruit that had enthralled Kaido as much as it had enraged him (and really, how could he <em>not</em> be enthralled by the holder of <em>this</em> mythical power?). He had lost many of his men to Marco who was all too happy to send them to an early, watery grave. Still, Kaido was hellbent to get his hands on him and the emperor was not someone to accept a gracious “No, thank you.” or even a “No, never.” that was carved into the flesh and bones of his own men. The more he was denied, the more the desired object struggled, defied him and lashed out, the more he wanted it and the Admiral struggled and defied him <em>a lot</em>, normally with a good amount of blood and body parts thrown into the mix.</p><p> </p><p>Some people even believed that this whole thing was a tragic lovestory - Kaido wanted to court Marco but the poor lovestruck emperor only met the cold, uninterested shoulder from the Admiral. (Not that anybody said it out loud when Marco, Kaido or one of their crews were in the vicinity. That would only end in a bloody massacre. And Whitebeard- well.. nobody wanted to think about Whitebeard and his opinion in this matter.)</p><p> </p><p>But still, <em>people talked</em>.</p><p> </p><p>They talked about Kaido as much as they talked about Whitebeard. Whitebeard with his on-going and to this point in time, failing recruitment of Marco and Vista (and their inofficial adoption, even if they didn't acknowledge or accept it themselves). Nobody knew exactly when it started but one day, the man had just asked them if they wanted to become a part of his family and even after they denied, he asked them at <em>every single meeting </em>since then this exact same question.</p><p> </p><p>Not that their answer made a difference for the man or his crew. The emperor had made up his mind about it and his “Yes” weighted a lot more than their “No”. So they were already a part of the family whether they wanted it or not. Secretly the two of them believed that the emperor would one day just throw all caution overboard and downright kidnap them because it was “The right thing to do” and just “The best for them”. Whitebeard and Kaido were nothing alike on first glance but there was a reason why Newgate was called “monster of the sea” and why he was an emperor in the first place.</p><p> </p><p>Vista had found the right words after one such meeting, failed recruitment and tiring fight and his words, quiet and certain had cut something loose in Marco, something he hadn't known was bound, something he had shoved as far away as possible: “trust is something to be given freely. From all parties involved. If your trust isn't returned, isn't acknowledged then there is an imbalance.” The statement was typical Vista; his words could hit true and sting more than any physical injury he could dish out with his blades and the man knew it.</p><p> </p><p>As the two of them had sat there in the fading light of a bright but turbulent day, surrounded by ever creeping darkness after another violent fight, after another round of accusations from their superiors, he had known that Vista had knowledge about his continuous.. disagreements with headquarters, he had known that Vista knew way more than he should about the current happenings and he had known that Vista was not happy about the situation at hand.</p><p> </p><p>Shortly after that, Kaido had started his “courtship” of Marco with an openness and viggour that had baffled everyone involved.</p><p> </p><p>..except Whitebeard. He was just furious that Kaido would <em>dare</em> to try something like <em>this</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Whitebeard for his part had let it be known that the Admiral, his right hand man (and kinda everyone the Admiral saw as his own) were <em>his</em> and he would not tolerate anyone trying to mess with them, hurt them, recruit them or really, do <em>anything</em> to them.</p><p> </p><p>This had led to a series of hilarious, scary and unpredictable events which had entailed decapitated body parts of pirates and marines alike, a near war between Whitebeard and Kaido, a near war between the emperors and the marines and so much explosions, nobody was sure, <em>how</em> they were all still alive. They just knew that it somehow ended in a situation which could be called “<em>ceasefire”</em>. Kind of. If one wanted to call the previous events “<em>war”</em>, that is.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Sengoku knew bad days, he knew horrible days and since this whole mess started, he knew days which could only be described with the term <em>apocalyptic disasterous</em>. (Sometimes, just <em>sometimes</em> there was regret. Deep, deep regret that he had forced Marco's hand, that he had this thought about a promotion in the first place, that he himself was still Fleet-Admiral and not another poor sod. So much regret.)</p><p> </p><p>But.. the meeting. The meeting was the reason why they were back in Mairiejoice despite storms, dangers, protests and concerns and why Vista was ready to cut down and/or drown someone in one of the toilets as soon as his feet left the planks of the ship (and they were speaking about <em>Vista</em> here. If this wasn't a sign then Marco didn't know). Marco had let the man go with the promise to be at least discreet about possible misdeeds (it was needless and he knew it. Vista would be more than subtle about anything he did but Marco just couldn't help himself). There was enough stuff going on, they didn't need an enraged officer that missed his secretary or cabin boy or something.</p><p> </p><p>After that Marco was off to deal with one of his own problems, this one was called Sengoku, Fleet-Admiral of the friendly and helpful Navy.</p><p> </p><p>But really, the whole crew had this air of clear displeasure and barely hidden aggression around them that nobody, except the highest officials, dared to ask them about their journey or late arrival. To say the crew was unamused by the comments and criticism they got for said “late arrival” would be the understatement of the century. The fact that they had to endure <em>all of this</em> for a bunch of pirates let the tempers fly higher than the clouds in the sky.</p><p> </p><p>The pirates in question would come in a few hours.</p><p> </p><p>Marco suspected that the usual few would come in time, the other usual few wouldn't come, like always and the rest would do what they usually did: in short, whatever they wanted on that particular day, so they came late or not at all (the usual suspects, the usual behavior and all that).</p><p> </p><p>It was the same game for every meeting and if it was a good meeting there wouldn't be a fight and if it wasn't.. well.. Marco didn't particularly <em>like</em> Mairiejoice that much, so.. to see it burn would be worth the time in his opinion. Maybe after the fires burned themselves out, it would be the perfect moment for a little vacation and to taste sweet, addictive freedom again.. Oh how beautiful it would be to be without regulations and orders and stupid superiors and underlings and pirates and civilians – there were <em>a lot</em> of morons out there, Marco noted distractedly. To just stretch his wings and <em>fly</em>..</p><p> </p><p>He felt Sengoku's glare and knew that the Fleet-Admiral had guessed his train of thoughts concerning the oh-so-beautiful-and-great Mairiejoice. Garp's laugh was loud and howling as he followed the interaction between the two. Why the man was even in the room, nobody of them knew but Garp was just like that. It was <em>Garp</em>, after all. Sengoku sighted and Marco knew that the golden Buddha prayed for quietness, strength and patience.</p><p> </p><p>The goat munched meanwhile blissfully on a piece of paper from the desk as Sengoku himself massaged his temples and suddenly made a shoo motion with one of his hands. „Go, inspect the meeting place and the guard rotation. There'll be new warlords in the meeting and I want no mistakes or coincidents.“ Marco, unimpressed and bored, turned to leave as Sengoku's voice held him back, a warning and clear order in it. „And Marco? ...I want a detailed report on my desk about this inspection, the meeting and why you were late before you even <em>think</em> about leaving Mairiejoice again. Understood?“</p><p> </p><p>Marco stood unmoving for a few seconds, then looked back over his shoulder to the Fleet-Admiral and held his gaze. Tension was thick in the air between them. It was always like that with the two of them. They were either on each others throats, barely not beating the other to death or they got along marvelous, a mutual goal uniting them. But now..</p><p> </p><p>Garp paused and looked at the scene before him. Something was different between them. It was something new and Garp wasn't sure how much he liked this new, unspeakable tension in the air. He looked to Marco and after a few more seconds there was a nod and then the Admiral was gone before someone could say another word.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In the end it is Garp who sees and Garp who acts. The irony is not lost on him (but kinda on everyone else).</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sengoku was silent as he sat there behind his desk, stoic and stern mask on his face and hooded eyes on his closed office-door but Garp could see the hidden relief, worry and tiredness nonetheless in his old friend. It was not something he had ever seen from Sengoku in relation with the other man.</p><p>There were many things over the years, many reactions, many concerns, many emotions and fights but it was <em>never like this</em>. He knew in that moment that something had changed between them, something important and fundamental and so very deep. It had changed and Garp could suddenly see, what the strange tension and behavior from the Fleet-Admiral in the last few months really was: it was the search for answers and the loss at what to do, what he could do to rectify the situation. It was a helplessness that sat deep in bones and flesh and mind and just wouldn't go away.</p><p> </p><p>You wouldn't suspect it but Sengoku and Marco had a strange but sincere relationship with each other. Different than his own relationship with the Golden Buddha but nonetheless deep. They clashed and fought, they argued and growled at each other but at the same time they found joy and relief in their disagreements and fights, they liked and respected and defended the other as much as they tried to hide and deny these facts.</p><p> </p><p>It was comradeship and anger, gratefulness and hate, military courtesy and equality all in one and as strange as it was, it was a beautiful thing to behold in Garp's opinion. As he looked at the unmoving Fleet-Admiral, he knew that something should be done, <em>had</em> to be done because all things considered.. it had the potential to become horrendous and disasterous really, <em>really</em> fast.</p><p> </p><p>Kaido and Whitebeard were looming dangerously over them for a chance to bury their claws in Marco and in Whitebeards case, in Vista and the entire rest of Marcos crew as well (because the emperor was a greedy bastard like that and the crew was loyal to a fault to Marco, so.. <em>disasterous</em>. ..and Garp would be damned if he let Newgate get away with this bold and not to say provocative behavior). Garp closed his eyes and stood up.</p><p> </p><p>What a <em>damn</em> mess.</p><p> </p><p>Without hurry he approached the desk, opened the bag of cookies, he always had on himself and set it down before the Fleet-Admiral who shot him one of his famous looks of clear, cutting and utterly disapproval. But Garp didn't move, didn't answer, didn't even laugh, like he always did in such situations, he just stood there and looked at his superior, his friend, silently, waiting. Sengoku looked sharply back, tension and aggression showing themself in the set of his shoulders and his suddenly stiff back, trying to gauge Garp and his goals in this, trying to see what he had to win out of this whole mess but as fast as the tension had come, it was gone and Sengoku's gaze softened a bit.</p><p> </p><p>He eyed the bag somewhat curiously, shot Garp an unimpressed look but took a cookie nonetheless. He nibbled at it slowly and Garps lips twitched a little as he left the Fleet-Admiral to it and strode with purpose out of the room. Sengoku needed it and right now, even <em>craved</em> it as much as he tried to deny and hide his feelings with this ridiculous show of disapproval and stoicness. He needed the cookies, he needed the time alone and he needed to see, to feel that someone cared.</p><p> </p><p>It was a good kept secret in the circle of the oldest officers that cookies (or sweets in general) helped to calm the nerves of the Fleet-Admiral and let him think more clearly. It was a hilarious thing and to be honest.. Garp had hated sweets and cookies of any sorts for the first part of his life. He had hated them with an unrivaled passion and he had kinda hated Sengoku for his sweet tooth in the beginning as well.</p><p> </p><p>Then they became <em>room-mates</em>.</p><p> </p><p>They nearly killed each other (oh, how they <em>wanted</em> it, how they <em>tried</em> it), they nearly killed the officer who got this glorious idea about room-mates in the first place and set the base, the ship and each other on fire but after the first months and both of them still in the realm of the living, they found that they accepted and kinda respected each other if nothing else. One thing came to another and with time, they just somewhat became colleagues and friends in a strange, crazy and unspeakable but still endearing way. As they got older and climbed the ranks, Sengoku settled down and didn't need that much sweets in stressful situations anymore but there were instances where he still craved them.</p><p> </p><p>..and as the perfectionist he was, he hid this peculiarity of his from prying eyes and outsiders, the higher he climbed in the ranks.</p><p> </p><p>Garp hadn't liked sweets and on some days, he still had a strong aversion concerning them, even now, but.. this wasn't about himself. He had seen the struggles as the craving, <em>the need</em> for clarity raged in the man, he had seen how he had struggled with the frying nerves, the aggressions, his own insecurities and worries and how he just wouldn't back down, not for himself, not for others and certainly not for sweets. (His devil-fruit didn't help the problem one bit because with mythical zoan types everything was a bit.. different.)</p><p> </p><p>Garp knew Sengoku's tendencies and if the man wanted to be like that, <em>good for him</em>. Garp knew the signs and he would be there with his stash of sweets and cookies and if it became too much.. he would shove them down Sengoku's throat himself if necessary, Fleet-Admiral or not. They were friends, after all and if this friendship meant to carry bags full of this horrible things around and sometimes even to eat them.. then so be it.</p><p> </p><p>Sengoku was settled and alright for the moment but Marco.. Marco was something entirely different. He was closed off more than usual, closed off in a completely strange and new way and Garp was not sure why or how to handle it. Marco had never been silent about his opinion concerning the many things the world government and the Navy did or let happen and look the other way but he still had pursued a career with them.</p><p> </p><p>His believes and idiosyncrasies could be strange and radical as much as they could be amusing and hilarious. This could be seen in all devil fruit users. They changed and not just in the “Oh look, I acquired a sweet new abilitiy! Fear my wrath!”-way. No, it was way more than that, so much more. You just.. <em>changed</em> and you couldn't control how or why or what you became. It was unnerving and quite literally an adventure for everyone who dared to taste one of these rare fruits. For the wielder of mythical powers however, this change was a little bit different. It was everything and nothing, so much deeper and at the same time not a change at all. (Oh, how many quirks Sengoku got thanks to his devil fruit, now that he thought about it).</p><p> </p><p>But.. this was a mess. And all because of Newgate and Kaido and their little squabble over the question who would get the shiny and flaming toy in the end.</p><p> </p><p>He snorted.</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>..who was he lying to? It was a squabble between Newgate, Kaido </span>
  <span>
    <em>and</em>
  </span>
  <span> Sengoku. Sengoku would not just stand by and mourn his losses. ..especially with the other two involved. Garp remembered the old times as did the Fleet-Admiral. Many things had changed, for better or worse or just in the eyes of the beholder. Maybe that was the problem. </span>
  <span>
    <em>They remembered</em>
  </span>
  <span>. There was a time when three of the four emperors sailed the sea together as a crew and it wasn't an experience you forgot. The things they did, the things they let happen.. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>No, Sengoku wouldn't just stand by. The three of them had too much history.</p><p> </p><p>Garp wasn't certain what Marco exactly knew about the situation but who said, he couldn't just run off and find something new and amusing to do? The irony wasn't lost on the Vice-Admiral. Three powerful people battled over this one man and in the end this single man could just walk out of the door and vanish into the world because he didn't feel any obligation to anything and anyone and all of them would have to chase after him like children.</p><p> </p><p>He rounded the corner and came to the corridor with the meeting room and could hear a guard giving his report to the Admiral, voice tense and wavering as if he could sense something off about his superior. Garp didn't stop, didn't slow down or hesitate, not in his gait, not in his breathing, everything was as it should be.</p><p> </p><p>He knew that they both had sensed each other with their observation Haki before he even came close to the corridor and that the instincts the devil fruit had given Marco, could end a conversation before it even began. Garp knew that the other man could somewhat sense thoughts and emotions, truths and untruths in other people but how far this ability went, he didn't know.</p><p> </p><p>The thing about the phoenix was.. it had a bad temper, a <em>really</em> bad one. You wouldn't suspect it but it was quick to ignite and dangerous once it came forth. It was not a secret but a fact only known by the people who had known or worked a long time with wielders of mythical powers that some things just changed in them, with them. There was something over-worldly, something unearthly about them that just wasn't there before.</p><p> </p><p>He hadn't known Marco before he got his powers but he had known Sengoku and had seen the changes in him. He had seen how quirks changed, some lost intensity and some gained it, some became strange and warped and some stood out like a sore thumb. He had seen how Sengoku was enraged and loud at one moment and in the next there was a calmness the likes you could only find when you looked at the eye of a storm, there was patience, peacefulness but more than that.. there was knowledge. He seemed to look at you, at the world around and he just.. <em>knew</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Garp suppressed a shiver.</p><p> </p><p>There was no better way to describe it. The golden Buddha just knew and in that knowledge, with that knowledge, he was great and just and far removed from everyday life and terrible to behold and it was as unsettling as it was reassuring. Sengoku became a part of the Buddha as the Buddha became a part of him. The things he knew.. they elevated him above and beyond them all and they weighted him down like an anchor.</p><p> </p><p>(On another, more hilarious note: Sengoku's need for sweets didn't vanish just because he ate his devil fruit. Garp had laughed harder than ever before after they discovered this and lost no time to crack a joke about how Sengoku should open up a bakery. This was a <em>sign</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally there were jokes and proverbs cursing through the ranks of even the youngest and inexperienced marines. Jokes and proverbs which were <em>coincidently</em> about sweets and cookies and bakeries. To say Sengoku was not amused, would be an utterly understatement. Garp howled with laughter every time he heard one of them and swore that he had '<em>no idea whatsoever'</em> how this whole thing came into being. Sengoku believed him. ..not a single word.)</p><p> </p><p>As for the phoenix..</p><p> </p><p>The mythical creature brought as much destruction, blood and cruelty as it brought refreshment, peace and strength. It could give hope with these flickering, roaring flames of brilliant, unearthly golds and blues as much as it could crush and snatch it from the hearts of all around. It could dig these tallons into eyes, into hearts, in entire bodies, it could rip out, rip apart, whatever it desired, anger bright and roaring, burning with cold, unforgiving flames like there was no tomorrow.</p><p> </p><p>To watch the phoenix fight and kill was boodthirsty madness and breathtaking beauty at the same time and you just couldn't look away, couldn't suppress the sheer awe, couldn't stop this tremble and rattle to build inside your body, to nearly break bones and rip open flesh and skin. It was fear and anticipation mingled with joy and horrified dread.</p><p> </p><p>Garp knew Marco for a long time, knew some of his quirks, not like he knew Sengoku's but he wanted to think that he knew enough to see when things became dangerous and when it was time to try to soothe this anger (as much as it could be soothed without blood, that is). Considering all of this.. maybe it wasn't so bad that he was only silent and closed off and not.. well.. rampaging and raving out there or in Mairiejoice itself.</p><p> </p><p>Marco didn't look at him as he stepped up to him and came to a stop at his side. The soldier before them looked from Marco to Garp and back again and was clearly relieved at Garps sudden appearance. Garp couldn't fault him for it. He knew all to well how cruel Marco could be in his cold calmness and there were many marines who did whatever it took to actively stay out of the phoenix's way even on the best of days. This poor boy in front of him was clearly on the receiving end of the Admiral's temper.</p><p> </p><p>“V-Vice-Admiral Garp, sir!“ The following salute was unproper and shakingly done and would have been funny if it wasn't clear how utterly terrified the kid was. Garp did what he always did in these kind of situations: he laughed. Loud, deep from the belly and like a fool. The kid blinked confused while Marco shot his fellow officer a look full of unimpressed coldness.</p><p> </p><p>Yep, the phoenix was not amused. Yet.. it was funny, Garp decided, that it was always him or Sengoku doing this, soothing tempers, negotiating... maybe he should do what everyone else did, just not care what the hell happened or scream bloody murder because Admirals were oh-so-terrifying and “How can I dare to stand in the way of a great Admiral?”.</p><p> </p><p>He was just a Vice-Admiral. This shouldn't be his job to begin with. His life could be so much easier without all this damn babysitting. Of grown up people, of<em> adults, </em>of his <em>bloody superiors</em>. He thought about the other Admirals and the idea of quieting down and maybe having a rational talk with this kid and Marco suddenly became the most absurd thing he could think of. ...because... superiors, huh?</p><p> </p><p>Damn these bullheaded, way too serious kids.</p><p> </p><p>At least he could be annoying. He grinned wider and laughed louder because in the end he cared. As for the future..</p><p> </p><p>Whatever happened in the next few days or weeks or years.. they would deal with it. They would always deal with it. With a grin and laugh, wind in the sails, waves crashing against the hull of the ship, a course to follow and determination in their eyes. What else was there to do?</p><p> </p><p>His laugh was too loud, too shattering, too much in the stiff, unnaturally silent hallways of Mairiejoice and he knew he made a fool of himself, his rank, the Navy but really.. what else was there to do?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I should be doing so many things right now. ..this is not one of them.<br/>And my life will be.. interesting in the weeks to come, so.. I don't know when I will actually have time for this story.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>